CHRIS looks forward to Tuesday night's must-win Champions League meeting with Ajax at Celtic Park and lays some home truths on the line.

ANY Celtic player could be excused for thinking they haven’t been able to buy a break in their Champions League group exploits.

But there will be no forgiveness for any one of Neil Lennon’s troops who uses the deflected goal for AC Milan in the San Siro or that Scot Brown sending-off against Barcelona in Glasgow as cause for self-pity ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Ajax.

The simple fact is Celtic must beat the Dutch side.

And a depressingly long list of injuries and suspensions will simply have to be filed under “so what?” while the players are at it.

The captain will be a huge miss in midweek.

It’s also regrettable Adam Matthews won’t play because he’s improving as a player all the time. And if James Forrest doesn’t win his battle with illness it will mean the loss of another attacking option for the manager.

But none of that matters because this game is win or bust in terms of Celtic’s ambition to make the last 16 of the competition.

Failure to take full advantage of a home game will mean all that Celtic have left is an outside chance of making it to the Europa League as a consolation prize.

And that’s why feeling sorry for yourself isn’t an option for any one of the 11 who start against Ajax.

I know, historically speaking, luck always seems to favour the major clubs in the Champions League but that doesn’t mean the Celtic players have been denied the opportunity to make their own luck against the Dutch side.

And they should start by putting the opposition into perspective while playing the game and not the name.

It’s a club, like Celtic, that brings along players and then sells them on for a massive profit. But they’ll still think they can get to Glasgow and do a number on Celtic.

And that’s why Neil’s players can leave nothing of themselves out on the pitch. They’ll have the motivation to win and that should be added to by the comfort they take from having outstanding players in their side.

Fraser Forster will be dreaming of Brazil and the World Cup finals next year now that England have qualified – and the big man is a heartbeat, or a howler, away from getting a game in place of current England No.1 Joe Hart.

Virgil van Dijk will want to perform well against his countrymen and he looks like a helluva buy from Groningen as far as I’m concerned.

Virgil van Dijk (Photo: SNS/Sammy Turner)

He’s a good decision maker who stays on his feet and never does anything rash.

And the fact Virgil is Dutch will only act as a deeper form of motivation in this one.

When I was playing for Celtic and we drew an English team in European competition, I was always desperate to beat them.

Incidentally, I don’t expect Prime Minister David Cameron’s insistence that everyone gets behind England when they go to Brazil to carry much weight in Scotland.

The PM was educated at Eton, and, with the greatest respect, I don’t think they get much of a grounding there in the passion and tribalism that comes with football crowds.

Do Scottish people want England to do well in major competitions? Probably not.

Do my fellow Englishmen want to see Scottish sides do well? I don’t think so.

But we’re not breaking new ground with any of this. That’s the way it has always been and nothing’s going to change any time soon.

I flicked between England’s win over Poland and Scotland’s success against Croatia on Tuesday night and I can imagine Charlie Mulgrew going into the game against Ajax on a high after his display for his country.

Charlie was a kid when I was at Celtic and he had to go to other clubs to learn his trade before being brought back again.

He grows in stature with every passing season and his cross for Robert Snodgrass to score Scotland’s first goal at Hampden was fantastic.

Scott Brown (left) and Charlie Mulgrew in training with the national team (Photo: Sammy Turner/SNS Group)

Charlie’s a big-game player, and Celtic are in the market for those on Tuesday night.

But I’m not forgetting they have to beat Hibs at Easter Road today first of all.

I’ll be there, along with Peter Grant, to be part of the television coverage.

Is it a good idea for Celtic to have one of the feistier fixtures on the calendar immediately before a crucial Champions League tie?

Of course it is – if you win the match and come through it unscathed as far as injuries are concerned.

If Celtic win well, they can look forward to Ajax with even greater relish.

In that case they’ll need to learn from their recent reversal against Morton in the League Cup and not be careless.

Hibs manager Pat Fenlon has done well to ride out the storm that followed his club’s record breaking 9-0 aggregate defeat by Malmo in the Europa League qualifiers at the start of the season.

His players will be right up for this game and Celtic will need to match their determination all the way.

These are the games that have to excite the crowd while the Celtic fans are denied the challenge of Rangers in the top flight.

It’s been another week of headlines behind the scenes at Ibrox following the resignation of chief executive Craig Mather.

But you can count me among those who believe the loss of Rangers from the major league has been disastrous for Scottish football.

I want to see the old rivalry return as soon as possible because it’s better for Celtic and Rangers.

Not just that, it is better for the supporters of both teams and the media as well.

But that’s a domestic consideration.

In the short term, it’s more important that Neil’s players put their continental heads on come Tuesday.